Multifunction devices (MFDs) offer a convenient way of communicating with a variety of devices from an individual stand-alone device. Briefly, multifunction devices may be used to convert a paper document to an electronic image and then to transmit the electronic image to a variety of network destinations. For example, the multifunction device may be used to send the electronic image of the paper document to an email account, a printer, a copier, an Independent Software Vendor (ISV) application, a mobile phone, and an Internet site, to name but a few such network destinations.
As an illustration, the user may send a paper document to a recipient as follows. The user positions a paper document in the automatic document feeder (ADF) or directly on the imaging bed of the multifunction device. The user then activates the multifunction device, for example, by pressing a “start” button. In turn, the multifunction device converts the paper document to an electronic image thereof. The user may identify a recipient for the electronic image of the paper document. For example, the user may identify a recipient by keying in a fax number, an email account, etc., using the keypad of the multifunction device 100. Or for example, the user may identify a recipient by selecting the same from a menu or address book shown on the display at the multifunction device. The multifunction device then sends the electronic image of the paper document over a suitable network (e.g., the Internet, an Intranet) to the recipient at any of a number of various network destinations.
In various circumstances, the user may want an acknowledgment that the document was received, whether it is for record-keeping purposes, or for any number of other reasons. The user may request (e.g., explicitly in the message) that the recipient send a reply back to the user to acknowledge receipt of the document. However, the user must then wait for the recipient to send the reply acknowledging receipt of the document. Where the intended recipient never received the document, the user typically waits for a period of time before realizing that the document was not received, and upon such realization, the user may resend the document. However, this is time consuming and inconvenient for both the user and the recipient.
Alternatively, the user may call the recipient after sending the document to confirm that he or she received the document. However, this approach is not feasible when the recipient does not have access to a telephone. Even if the recipient does have access to a telephone, it is still time consuming and inconvenient for both the user and the recipient to call one or the other and confirm receipt of the document. Indeed, where the document is sent to multiple recipients, the user must call each of the recipients to ensure that they have all received the document.
If the sender is sending an email, various software approaches are available for requesting receipts. For example, extended simplified mail transport protocol (ESMTP) allows the sender to request a receipt from the recipient's email server. However, this approach is not supported by all email software, and hence the sender may not receive a receipt when the recipient's email software does not support this function.
A more universal approach for requesting receipts for email may employ a third-party Internet site, such as is currently provided at “www.itraceyou.com”. Such third-party Internet sites may require that the sender modify the email address of the recipient so that the email is instead sent to the third-party Internet site and logged before being resent from the third-party Internet site to the recipient. When the recipient receives the email, the third-party Internet site is accessed and updated to acknowledge receipt of the email, which in turn emails the sender a receipt. This approach thus requires extra steps by the sender (e.g., modifying the email address), and may slow transmission of the email.